Angara: Imee Marcos, Legarda keen on getting Senate’s 2nd top post (Sabong News)

Senator Imee Marcos and incoming Senator Loren Legarda have expressed their preference to be the Senate President Pro Tempore, Senator Sonny Angara said on Wednesday. However, incoming majority members of the Upper Chamber in the 19th Congress have yet to discuss who would be appropriate for the post including that of the Senate President. “There’s a possibility but I think there are colleagues who expressed preference for that (Senate President Pro Tempore)…I think Senator Imee said she wanted it initially, then Sen. Loren is also interested in the position,” Angara said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum. “I think we will still discuss who would be appropriate person for the position,” he further said. Marcos is the eldest sister of presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. who himself was a senator. Legarda, meanwhile, is returning to the Senate for another six year term. She also previously served as the Senate Majority Leader. Angara also said Sen. Joel Villanueva is a possible contender for the Majority Leader position. The reeleectionist senator had served as assistant majority leader in the 18th Congress. But Angara said he does not know if Villanueva is interested in the position. On the issue of the Senate Presidency, Angara said there are currently only two strong contenders: incumbent Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Sen. Cynthia Villar. “It is only natural for Senator Zubiri to aspire for leadership,” Angara said, adding that it is a natural progression for Zubiri to do so having served as the Majority Leader three times and being a veteran senator. However, Villar, Angara acknowledged, is regarded as a “strong figure in national politics.”